Social Security and You: Applying online

Published 8:47 pm, Friday, January 4, 2013

Q: Is it possible to help my mother complete her Internet application for Social Security benefits? She does not have a computer, but I do.

A: Yes. We welcome those who wish to help another person complete their application for retirement, spousal or Medicare benefits. The assisting person can be a relative, friend, attorney, paralegal, employer or member of an advocacy group or organization.

We may ask for information about you (the form completer), your relationship to the person you are applying for and, if applicable, the organization you work for. You do not need to be appointed as the representative of the person you are helping in order to help him or her apply for benefits.

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If the person you are helping is, or will be with you and able to sign the completed application, he or she must be the one to sign it. This simply involves clicking on the signature button at the end of the application, and it is electronically signed. The application then will be automatically forwarded to us, and we will begin processing.

In this situation, please answer the questions as that person would answer them. Whenever we say “you” or “your,” we are referring to the person you are helping to apply.

However, if the person is not with you or not able to sign the application, we will mail it to him or her for verification and signature. It is important that the person you are helping signs the application, not you.

Once we receive the application, we will review it. After the review, we will contact the applicant if we need more information or if we need to see their documents. We will also let them know if we think they may be able to receive benefits on another person's record, such as their spouse. When we have all of the necessary information and documents, we will process the application and send the applicant a letter about our decision in the mail.

A: While benefits are lower when using the modified WEP formula, they are never totally eliminated. The maximum reduction under the WEP formula for 2012 is normally $383.50 per month. This amount is determined by the year that a person reaches age 62.

However, under a special rule the reduction can be less. This special rule limits the reduction under the WEP to no more than one-half of the amount of the pension from employment that is not covered by Social Security. This protects workers who receive smaller government pensions from having their benefit reduced by the same amount as a person who was a long-time government employee. For example, if the person's pension is $500 per month, the WEP reduction could not exceed $250.

You must enter certain identifying information about yourself, including your first name, last name, date of birth, Social Security number, place of birth and mother's maiden name. If the information you provide does not match our records, you cannot use the Retirement Estimator. If the personal information you provide matches our records, you can enter other information, such as your expected retirement age and future wages. This information then is combined with the information we have on record about your past earnings to provide a quick and reliable online benefit estimate.

The Retirement Estimator does not show your earnings record information on which the benefit estimate was calculated. The Retirement Estimator is located at
www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator/.

Oscar Garcia is a public affairs specialist with the Social Security Administration. You can direct your questions to him at: SSA, 411 Richland Hills Drive, San Antonio, TX 78245. You also can email him at Oscar.h.garcia@ssa.gov.